to the Imperial Government. The difference between the £12,500 which was the payment to Ockerby & Co. was made up by £3,500 to Narrogin and £1,900 to Wagin. It meant that the mills accounts were in credit a certain extent and that these payments were made to bring their accounts back to normal. Practically, the Scheme owed to these millers that amount. When I say the Scheme owed to these millers that amount, in connection to Ockerby & Co., that was after the amount he claimed in connection with the contract wheat had been allowed for. With regard to Narrogin and Wagin, neither of these two mills held back any money in connection with the contract wheat at all. Narrogin only had a small quantity of contract wheat, Wagin none. I have here a statement of the objects of the Accounts Branch. It gives a general outline of the work we have done and shows how we apportion the various Pools. I think it would be better if I read the statement. It is as follows:---The chief object of the account is, naturally, to keep a proper record of the financial dealings of the Scheme, both within the State and in its relationship to General Pool of all wheat growing States, the executive body of which is known as the Australian Wheat Board. The various shipper agents have never, in any season, had anything to do with matters outside the actual handling of the wheat, and their records, to all intents and purposes, were stock records and not financial. In addition to the stock records, the miller agents also, of course, had to keep some financial records showing their position in regard to the Scheme over the various wheat transactions. The accounts branch keeps records showing ( separately as regards each Pool )---1. The certificates issued to those persons delivering wheat to the Scheme, together with any assignments made on such certificates under the Wheat Marketing Act. 2. All payments made or due on certificates as outlined above. 3. Records of all expenditure incurred in acquiring, storing, caretaking, and shipping or selling locally all wheat acquired. 4. All sales overseas and local. 5. On principles laid down by the Australian Wheat Board, it allocates the proceeds of different overseas sales between the various Pools. 6. It records all loans from the Imperial Government, together with the value of shipments forwarded to repay these loans, or where payment is made against documents it records the proceeds of such shipments. 7. It informs the Australian Wheat Board of all transactions in the manner required by that Board. 8. It records any allocates all interest charges on the overdrafts with the local Banks. 9. It keeps and supplies to the Australian Wheat Board all those particulars necessary to enable that Board to allocate properly the interest earned or payable on Imperial Government loans or charges. In no case do any of the above records enter into the agents' work except so far as the quantities of wheat dealt with are concerned, and the recording of the original certificates issued. Item 3 in itself is a fairly large item, while the allocation as between pools has also to be very carefully kept, and entails considerable time and care. Through the acquiring agents for 1917-18 only loading trucks at acquiring stations, a fairly large outdoor staff has to be employed at the depots, while there has also been considerable work necessary at ports, this having enlarged the work of the accounts staff to some extent. There is, of course, a very considerable saving of commission as between the rates paid during the 1915-16 and 1916-17 as against the 1917-18 season owing to the restricted service obtaining by agents in 1917-18. Staff---The accounts staff at the present time consists of 22 members, being 12 males and 10 females. System of accounts---Certificates Branch---Briefly stated, the position is as follows:---As the wheat is acquired by our agents, interim receipts are issued to the grower delivering, these afterwards being presented to the agent in return for certificates, which give the holder the right of participation in the proceeds of all the Pool as and when payments are made under instructions from Australian Wheat Board. These certificates are listed on a return which is forwarded to the Scheme and which operates as the basis of checking the commission payments to the agent and also as a means of balancing up our register of certificates issued. When a certificate is issued, the original goes to the grower, the duplicate to the Scheme, the third being retained by the agent. From the duplicates our certificates register is written up and at the end of the season this register is balanced with the returns of certificates issued sent to the Scheme by the agent. Our agency inspector, to see that no over-issue of certificates takes place, checks in the agents office the sub-agents' returns of wheat acquired at the different sidings which, under instructions from the Scheme, has to be entered in an account which is opened for each siding. Against this quantity of wheat acquired as posted up from the sub-agents' statements, the agent has to post the certificate issued on account of that agency and, of course, any under or over-payment is shown when the siding account is closed by the certificates issued and wheat acquired columns being totalled to balance off the account. To have an effectual check on the issue of certificates the total of the certificates issued columns in the stock books has to be balanced with the returns of certificates issued by the agent forwarded to the Scheme by the agent and which is balanced with our Register of Certificates issued. Our register of certificates forms the left-hand side of the book in which all payments are recorded (on the right-hand side) as made to the certificate holders, and thus the Register of Certificates becomes a tabular ledger. The register columns showing the net value of the certificates, the interest paid, the total amounts advanced, the original deductions, and the various payments under different dividends are balanced with the general account for each item in the General Ledger. A specimen page of the 1917-18 Register is attached herewith. On all payments of the 1915-16 Pool a balance has been effected with the Bank payments up to the 31st of December last and also on 1916-17. The first payment on 1917-18 is also balanced with the Banks' statements preparatory to machine posting. The whole of the 1917-18 Register of Certificates is posted by means of Burroughs' Posting Machines operated by lady machinists, and in my opinion, the system of recording the payments on certificates and of obtaining a balance of each post with the Banks is superior to that of any of the other States. The certificates portion of the accounts staff, which consists entirely of lady officers and is under the direct supervision of a lady officer, is housed in a separate room from the rest of the Scheme officers. After the certificates are issued the agent is not interested in them any further, with the exception of correcting any errors that are picked up by us in the checking , either of its own books or of the certificates in the head office. The keeping of the records of these certificates is a fairly big job, as there are approximately 24,00 certificates in the 1915-16 Pool, 26,000 prior to an amalgamation scheme which was carried out in connection with 1916-17 Pool, and for 1917-18 11,000. Stock Records:---The records of the actual wheat movements are now kept in a separate branch of the Scheme, known as the Stock Branch, and information re this is best obtained from the officer in charge of that Branch (Mr. H. M. Smith). Accounts outside of Certificate Branch:---Various transactions resulting through local sales, shipping, gristing, etc., of wheat are recorded in the following books---the Dav Book (Sales Journal). Shipping Register with Posting Summaries, Acquisition Register, Sundry Debtors Ledger, Sundry Creditors Journal, Sundry Creditors Ledger, Cash Book, Cash Summaries, Farmers Grist Register, Plant Ledger, Gristing Agreement Ledger, and the General Ledger. The system employed seem to work satisfactorily and all books are kept well to date. Statement and Balance Sheet were prepared as at the 31st December, and were presented to the Auditor General for audit during March. The audit of this was completed and the Auditor General's report received re same on the 14th May Copies were laid on the table of both Houses. Both Statement and Balance Sheet went through the audit and were presented to the House as exactly as given to the Auditor General in the first instance, his officers not finding it necessary to make any alteration in same whatever. In a concern of this magnitude, I am of opinion that this is a very satisfactory state of affairs, for the audit given the books was a lengthy and detailed one. Owing to the large quantity of 1916-17 wheat on hand, very little purpose is served by attempting to get out of Statement and Balance Sheet for this Pool. The expense to be incurred in disposing of the same and in the getting of it